Beverage container with locking tab mechanism

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a beverage container having a tab with a permeable membrane to prevent tampering with the liquid contents of the container. The container includes a side wall, an upper rim having an inwardly directed retaining element, and a top wall extending radially inward from the rim. The top wall has a pivotable panel defined by a rupturable seam that provides a drink opening when the seam is ruptured. The tab is coupled to the top wall by a rivet and includes a body portion that supports the permeable membrane. In a closed position, the tab is oriented such that the permeable membrane is roughly 180 degrees from the panel and the yet to be formed drink opening. An operator rotates the tab 180 degrees to arrive at a use position, wherein the permeable membrane overlies the drink opening to prevent tampering. An external segment of the body portion is engaged by the retaining element to maintain the use position.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

N/A

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to a beverage container, such as a can, with a locking tab mechanism that, once rotated into position, prevents contaminants, such as insects, from entering the container.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Beverage containers, including those fabricated from aluminum, are typically designed to be durable enough to both store and dispense the liquid contents therein. The liquid contents are dispensed through an opening formed in a top wall of the container. The opening is formed by actuating a tab fastened to the top wall. Once the operator actuates the tab to form the opening, the operator engages the container with his/her lips and then inclines or tilts the container to dispense the liquid contents into the mouth.

As the consuming public becomes more safety conscious, existing beverage containers have employed a variety of strategies to prevent tampering with the liquid contents within the container. For purposes of this invention, tampering includes an insect or bug entering the container, or the purposeful addition of a foreign substance, e.g. a toxin or drug, into the container. Existing beverage containers having “tamper resistant” or “tamper proof” attributes include separate caps and covers that are joined to the container to form a multi-component assembly. Other containers include a spout that is inserted into the opening to prevent tampering. The existing containers suffer from a number of limitations, including poor user interaction and comfort, subpar liquid flow performance and high manufacturing cost, which negatively impact utility and commercial feasibility of the containers.

The present invention is provided to solve these limitations and to provide advantages and aspects not provided by conventional beverage containers. A full discussion of the features and advantages of the present invention is deferred to the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a beverage container having a tab with permeable membrane to prevent tampering with the liquid contents of the container. The beverage container includes a side wall arrangement, a neck region, a rim, a top wall and the tab coupled or fastened to the top wall. The tab, once positioned over a drink opening in the top wall, allows for the flow of the liquid contents through the opening while preventing tampering of the contents.

According to one aspect of the invention, the rim is joined to the neck and defines an uppermost portion of the container and the top wall extends radially inward from the rim. The top wall includes a deboss, wherein the deboss has a rupturable seam and a panel. Once the operator pivots the tab and applies force against the seam, the panel pivots downward to define the opening. The panel and the resulting opening have a width and a depth. The tab is moveably coupled to the deboss by a rivet that extends through a nose portion of the tab. The tab also has a body portion that engages the exterior edge of the permeable membrane and the sealing element. The body portion has an internal segment, an external segment and opposed side segments that define the perimeter of the body portion and provide the body portion with a width and a depth.

According to another aspect of the invention, a retaining element or projection extends radially inward from an internal side wall of the rim to engage and secure the tab in a use position. The rim has a height and the retaining element extends from a point along that height such that a lower height allows for the reception of the tab and an upper height allows for the reception of a stacked beverage container. Therefore, the retaining element is strategically positioned along the height of the rim to allow for vertical stacking of multiple beverage containers.

According to yet another aspect of the invention, the tab is positioned against the top wall and 180 degrees from the panel in a closed position, which results from the formation of the container. To move from the closed position to a use position, the operator engages the tab and applies an upward force on the body portion to pivot the nose against the panel. When sufficient force is applied to the panel via the nose, the seam ruptures causing the panel to pivot downward into the container and thereby form the opening. Next, the operator pivots the body portion back towards the top wall to its original position, and then rotates the tab such that the body portion overlies the opening. As a result, the permeable membrane is aligned with the drink opening. Because the width and depth of the body portion exceeds the width and depth of the opening, the permeable membrane overlies and covers the opening. As a result, the likelihood of tampering with the liquid contents of the container is severely reduced. In the use position the sealing element engages the top wall about the drink opening to reduce the incidence of leakage.

For a better understanding of the present invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings as well as the descriptive matter in which there is illustrated and described the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the beverage container of the invention, showing the container in a closed position;

FIG. 2 is a cross-section of the beverage container taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1, showing the container in the closed position;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the beverage container of FIG. 1, showing the container in an open position wherein the tab is in an engaged state;

FIG. 4 is a cross-section of the beverage container taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3, showing the container in the open position;

FIG. 5 is a top view of a second embodiment of the beverage container, showing the container in the open position wherein the tab is in the engaged state;

FIG. 6 is a cross-section of the beverage container taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 5, showing the container in the open position;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a third embodiment of the beverage container, showing the container in the open position wherein the tab is in the engaged state;

FIG. 8 is a cross-section of the beverage container taken along line 8-8 of FIG. 7, showing the container in the open position;

FIG. 9 is a cross-section of a fourth embodiment of the beverage container having a cam and tab assembly, showing the container in the closed position;

FIG. 10 is a cross-section of the beverage container of FIG. 8, showing the container in an intermediate position where a drink opening has been formed; and,

FIG. 11 is a cross-section of the beverage container of FIG. 8, showing the container in the open position where the tab resides over the drink opening.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.

FIGS. 1-4 show a first embodiment of a beverage container 10 of the present invention. The beverage container 10 includes a side wall arrangement 12, a neck region 14, a rim 16, a top wall 18 and a tab 20 coupled or fastened to the top wall 18. As explained in greater detail below, the tab 20 includes a permeable membrane 22 that, once the tab 20 is properly positioned over a drink opening 24 in the top wall 18, allows for the flow of the liquid contents through the opening 24 while preventing tampering of the contents. For purposes of this invention, tampering includes both inadvertent insertion of a foreign substance and purposeful insertion of a foreign substance into the container 10. An example of inadvertent insertion includes an insect or bug entering the container 10. An example of purposeful insertion by a third party includes the addition of a foreign substance, e.g. a toxin or drug, into the container 10. In this manner, the tab 20 and permeable membrane 22 increase the tamper resistant attributes of the container 10.

Referring to FIGS. 1-4, the rim 16 is joined to the neck 14 and defines an uppermost portion of the container 10 and the top wall 18 extends radially inward from the rim 26. A recessed cavity 28 is positioned at the outer periphery of the top wall 18 and at the base of the rim 26. Referring to FIG. 2, the cavity 28 comprises a horizontal segment 30 and a vertical segment 32 leading to the top wall. The top wall 18 includes a deboss 34 having a “FIG. 8” configuration. The deboss 34 has a recess 36 proximate the tab 20 to provide additional clearance for a user's finger when prying the tab 20 upward. The deboss 34 has a rupturable seam 38 and a panel 40. Once the operator pivots the tab 20 and applies force against the seam, the panel 40 pivots downward to define the opening 24. Preferably, the seam 38 has a sloped wall 42 wherein the panel 40 is recessed from the deboss 34. The panel 40 and the resulting opening have a width W1 and a depth D1. The tab 20 is moveably coupled to the deboss 34 by a rivet 44 that extends through a nose portion 46 of the tab 20. The top wall 18 has a central axis A-A, and the rivet 44 has a central axis B-B that is offset from the top wall axis A-A closer to the opening 24. Thus, the tab 20 is coupled to the top wall 18 at a point radially outward of the axis A-A and closer to the resulting opening 24. The nose 46 is the frontal portion of the tab 20 and includes a curvilinear void 48 and exterior bands 50 that lead to a body portion 52 of the tab 20. The body portion 52 has a top wall 56, a side wall 58 and a bottom wall 60 that define a C-shaped receiver 62 that engages the exterior edge of the permeable membrane 22 and the sealing element 54. The permeable membrane 22 comprises a mesh screen or a thin film composite membrane (TFC or TFM). Thin film composite membranes are semi-permeable membranes manufactured from two or more layered materials to function as a molecular sieve. These layered materials can be fabricated from polyimide, which is permeable to water and relatively impermeable to various dissolved impurities including salt ions and other small, unfilterable molecules. The body portion 52 has an internal segment 64, an external segment 66 and opposed side segments 68 that define the perimeter of the body portion 52 and provide the body portion 52 with a width W2 and a depth D2. These segments 64-68 define the receiver 62 that engages and supports the permeable membrane 22 and the sealing element 54. In one embodiment, the width W2 and the depth D of the body portion 52 correspond to that of the permeable membrane 22. Preferably, all segments 64-68 are curvilinear, and the internal segment 64 and the side segments 68 extend from the bands 50 of the nose 46. Since the width W2 and depth D2 of the body portion 52 and the permeable membrane 22 exceed the width W1 and depth D1 of the opening 24, the permeable membrane 22 is positioned over the drink opening 24.

A retaining element or projection 70 extends radially inward from an internal side wall of the rim 16 to engage and secure the tab 20 in a use position P2 (see FIGS. 3 and 4). As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, element 70 has a curvilinear periphery and extends beyond the cavity 28 and over the top wall 18. The retaining element 70 may be integrally formed with the rim 16, or may be coupled to the rim 16 with an adhesive or weldment. The rim 16 has a height H1 and the retaining element 70 extends from a point along that height such that a lower height H2 (measured from the top wall 18 to the lower surface of the element 70) allows for the reception of the tab 20 and an upper height H3 (measured from the rim 16 to the upper surface of the element 70) allows for the reception of a stacked beverage container 90 (see FIGS. 2 and 4). Regarding the lower height H2, the retaining element 70, the top wall 18 and the rim 16 define a receiver that frictionally receives the external segment of the body portion 52. Regarding the upper height H3, a second beverage container 90 has a base 92 with a depending flange 94 that is received within the rim 16. The flange 94 makes contact with the retaining element 70 such that the rim 16 and the element 70 support the second container 90 in a vertically stacked arrangement. Therefore, the retaining element 70 is strategically positioned along the height of the rim 16 to allow for vertical stacking of multiple beverage containers 10, 90.

In FIGS. 1 and 2 the container 10 is in the closed position P1 which results from the formation of the container 10. In the closed position P1, the body portion 52 and the permeable membrane 22 are roughly 180 degrees from the panel 40. In FIGS. 3 and 4, the container 10 is in the use position P2 wherein the operator has actuated the tab 20 to form the drink opening 24 and rotated the tab 20 over the opening 24. To move form the closed position P1 to the use position P2, the operator engages the tab 20 and applies an upward force on the body portion 52 to pivot the nose 46 against the panel 40. When sufficient force is applied to the panel 40 via the nose 46, the seam 38 ruptures causing the panel 40 to pivot downward into the container 10 and thereby form the opening 24. Next, the operator pivots the body portion 52 back towards the top wall 18 to its original position, and then rotates the tab 20 such that the body portion 52 overlies the opening 24. Specifically, the operator rotates the tab 20 approximately 180 degrees about the rivet 44 such that the body portion 52, namely the permeable membrane 22, is aligned over the drink opening 24 to arrive at the use position P2 of FIGS. 3 and 4. In the use position P2, the external segment 66 extends beyond the opening 24 and overlaps the top wall 18. Because the width W2 and depth D2 of the body portion 52 exceeds the width W1 and depth D1 of the opening 24, the permeable membrane 22 overlies and covers the opening 24. As a result, the likelihood of tampering with the liquid contents of the container is severely reduced. In the use position the sealing element 54 engages the top wall 18 about the drink opening 24 to reduce the incidence of leakage. Once the use position P2 is achieved, a flow path for the liquid contents extends from within the container 10 and through the opening 24 and the permeable membrane 22 of the aligned body portion 52. The sealing element 54 is adapted to prevent leakage when the operator engages the container 10 with his or her mouth to drink the liquid contents through the permeable membrane 22. The tab 20 is maintained in the use position P2 by the engagement between the retaining element 70 and the body portion 52. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the body portion 52, namely the external segment 66, is frictionally retained between the element 70 and the top wall 18. Further, the leading edge 71 of the retaining element 70 overlaps the external segment 66 (see FIG. 3).

A second embodiment of the beverage container 110 is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. Components of the second container 110 similar to that of the first container 10 have one hundred series reference numbers. Unlike the retaining element 70 of the container 10, the retaining element 170 has a smaller width whereby the element 170 is positioned over the cavity 28 and does not extend beyond the top wall 18 or the opening 24. Assuming the distance between the tab wall axis A-A and the rivet axis B-B remain constant, the width W2 of the body portion 152 can be reduced compared to that of the body portion 52 of the first container 10. Also, the element 170 extends inward from a lower position of the rim height H1, whereby the lower height H2 is reduced compared to that of the container 10 and the upper height H3 is increased compared to that of the container 10. Accordingly, the retaining element 170 does not provide support for the stacked second container 90. In the use position P2, the end wall 167 of the external segment 166 engages the retaining element 170 to maintain the tab 120 in the use position P2 wherein the permeable membrane 122 overlies the opening 124. Because the width W2 and depth D2 of the body portion 152 exceeds the width W1 and depth D1 of the opening 24, the permeable membrane 122 covers the opening 124 to prevent tampering.

A third embodiment of the beverage container 210 is shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. Components of the third container 210 similar to that of the first container 10 have two hundred series reference numbers. The tab 220 has a projection or finger 265 that extends outward from the external segment 266 of the body portion 252. The internal wall 280 of the rim 216 includes a recessed channel 282. In the use position P2 of FIGS. 6 and 7, the finger 265 is received in the channel 282 of the internal wall of the rim 16 to secure the tab 220 in the use position P2 wherein the permeable membrane 222 overlies the opening 224. Depending upon the amount the finger 265 projects from the external segment 266, the external segment 266 may overlie or extend beyond the top wall 218. Because the width W2 and depth D2 of the body portion 252 exceeds the width W1 and depth D1 of the opening 224, the permeable membrane 222 covers the opening 224 to prevent tampering.

A fourth embodiment of the beverage container 310 is shown in FIGS. 8-10. Components of the fourth container 310 similar to that of the first container 10 have three hundred series reference numbers. Instead of a retaining element associated with the rim 16, the container 310 utilizes a cam 390 associated with the rivet 344 to maintain the tab 320 in the use position P2. Preferably, the cam 390 is fabricated from an elastomeric material (a polymeric material that experiences reversible elastic deformations), such as rubber, neoprene, or silicone, to provide resistance and resiliency during rotation of the tab 320. Referring to FIG. 9, the rivet 344 extends through the cam 390 and into the top wall 318 of the container 310. The cam 390 has an angled upper surface 392 that causes the tab 320 to be downwardly inclined or sloped in the closed position P1 of FIG. 9. Accordingly the left upper surface 392 a is higher than the right upper surface 392 b. This means that the body portion 352 of the tab 320 is positioned above or higher than the nose portion 346. Once the tab 320 is actuated to form the drink opening 324 as explained above, the tab 320 is rotated to the intermediate position P3 of FIG. 10. The tab 320 is further rotated from the intermediate position P3 to the use position P2 of FIG. 11. In the use position P2, cam the tab 320 is declined, meaning the nose portion 346 is positioned above or higher than the body portion 52. In the use position P2, the permeable membrane 322 overlies and covers the opening 324 to prevent tampering. Due to its resilient nature and its angled upper surface, the cam 390 provides resistance to inadvertent movement of the tab 320 from the use position P2. Described differently, the geometry and material composition of the cam 390 help to retain the tab 320 in the use position P2.

While the specific embodiments have been illustrated and described, numerous modifications come to mind without significantly departing from the spirit of the invention, and the scope of protection is only limited by the scope of the accompanying Claims. 

1. A beverage container having a tab with permeable membrane to prevent tampering with the liquid contents of the container, the container comprising: a side wall arrangement; an upper rim having an inwardly directed retaining element; a top wall extending radially inward from the rim, the top wall having a panel defined by a rupturable seam that provides a drink opening; a tab coupled to the top wall by a rivet extending through a nose of the tab, the tab having a body portion wherein the rivet is positioned between the nose and the body portion, the body portion having a permeable membrane and an external segment; and, wherein the tab is rotated 180 degrees to arrive at a use position, wherein the permeable membrane overlies the drink opening and the external segment of the body portion is secured by the retaining element.
 2. The beverage container of claim 1, wherein in the use position the permeable membrane allows for the flow of the container contents through both the drink opening and the permeable membrane.
 3. The beverage container of claim 1, wherein the retaining element extends from an inner wall of the rim to define both an upper rim height and a lower rim height, the lower rim height allowing for the external segment of the body portion to be received between the retaining element and the top wall.
 4. The beverage container of claim 3, wherein the upper rim height allows for a second beverage container to be vertically stacked on the container, wherein the second beverage container has a base with a depending flange that is received within the rim.
 5. The beverage container of claim 4, wherein the retaining element contacts the flange and supports the second container in a vertically stacked arrangement.
 6. The beverage container of claim 1, wherein the body portion includes the external segment, an internal segment and opposed side segments that collectively define a receiver that supports the permeable membrane.
 7. The beverage container of claim 1, wherein the permeable membrane has a width that exceeds a width of the drink opening, and the permeable membrane has a depth that exceeds a depth of the drink opening.
 8. The beverage container of claim 1, wherein the top wall has a central axis and the rivet has a central axis that is offset from the top wall axis.
 9. A beverage container having a tab with permeable membrane to prevent tampering with the liquid contents of the container, the container comprising: a side wall arrangement; an upper rim having an inwardly directed retaining element; a top wall having a panel defined by a rupturable seam that provides a drink opening in the top wall; a tab coupled to the top wall by a rivet, the tab having a body portion and a nose in an opposed positional relationship, the body portion having an external segment, an internal segment and opposed side segments that collectively define a receiver to support a permeable membrane; wherein in a use position the permeable membrane overlies the drink opening and the body portion is secured by the retaining element.
 10. The beverage container of claim 9, wherein an upward force on the body portion pivots the nose against the panel to rupture the seam and pivot the panel downward and form the drink opening.
 11. The beverage container of claim 9, wherein the tab is rotated 180 degrees from a closed position to arrive at the use position.
 12. The beverage container of claim 9, wherein the rivet extends through a nose of the tab and is positioned between the nose and the body portion.
 13. The beverage container of claim 9, wherein the top wall includes a recessed cavity at the base of the rim, and wherein the retaining element extends from the rim beyond the cavity.
 14. The beverage container of claim 13, wherein the retaining element extends over the top wall.
 15. The beverage container of claim 9, wherein the top wall includes a recessed cavity at the base of the rim, and wherein the retaining element extends from the rim above the cavity and engages an end wall of the external segment in the use position.
 16. The beverage container of claim 9, wherein the body portion further includes a sealing element residing below the permeable membrane, and wherein in the use position the sealing element sealing engages the top wall about the drink opening.
 17. A beverage container comprising: a side wall arrangement; an upper rim having an internal wall with a recessed channel; a top wall having a panel defined by a rupturable seam that provides a drink opening; a tab coupled to the top wall by a rivet extending into the top wall, the tab having a body portion and a nose in an opposed positional relationship, the body portion having a receiver that supports a permeable membrane to prevent tampering with the liquid contents of the container, the body portion further having an outwardly extending finger; wherein in a use position the tab is rotated such that the permeable membrane overlies the drink opening and the finger is received in the recessed channel of the rim.
 18. The beverage container of claim 17, wherein the body portion has an external segment, an internal segment and opposed side segments that collectively define the receiver.
 19. The beverage container of claim 18, wherein the finger outwardly extends from the external segment.
 20. The beverage container of claim 17, wherein the recessed channel is positioned at a mid-height of the rim.
 21. The beverage container of claim 17, wherein in a closed position the permeable membrane is positioned 180 degrees from the recessed channel.
 22. The beverage container of claim 17, wherein the body portion further includes a sealing element residing below the permeable membrane, and wherein in the use position the sealing element sealing engages the top wall about the drink opening. 